Kansas City, Chicago among cities facing winter's fury

The second blizzard in a week is aiming for the Plains states, with up to a foot of snow forecast for parts of Kansas and Oklahoma by Monday. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says this storm could be worse than last week's. (Feb. 25)
AP

The storm is bringing havoc to an area barely dug out from last week's blizzard.

An Emporia State University student walks around campus in the midst of the storm on Feb. 21 in Emporia, Kan.(Photo: Matthew Fowler, AP)

Story Highlights

The second winter storm in a week, this one featuring heavy, wet snow and driving winds, pounded parts of the Midwest on Tuesday, closing schools, snarling transportation and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses.

The storm was ripping through Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma early Tuesday, with eight inches on the ground in some places and more on the way. More than 80,000 homes and businesses were without power.

"This storm will have a huge impact, with additional heavy snows likely over portions of eastern Kansas and northern Missouri which received very heavy snowfall amounts last week," weather service meteorologist Robert Oravec wrote in an online bulletin.

Chicago was forecast to see up to six inches of ice and snow by Tuesday night. Detroit and Milwaukee were among other major cities in the storm's immediate path.

Airlines have canceled more than 1,900 flights during the past 72 hours and were waiving fees for passengers scrambling to make connections through the storm's path. FlightStats reported 345 cancellations at Chicago O'Hare and 117 at Kansas City alone.

The storm already was being blamed for two deaths -- in northwest Kansas, a 21-year-old man's SUV hit an icy patch on Interstate 70 and overturned. And in the northwest town of Woodward, Okla., heavy snow caused a roof to collapse, killing one inside the home.

The storm will continue to dump snow across the Lower Great Lakes region Tuesday night and into northern New York State and northern New England on Wednesday, Oravec says.

The storm forced road closures in Texas on Monday. Paul Braun, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation, said whiteout conditions and drifting snow had made all roads in the Texas Panhandle impassable. Interstate 40 was closed from Amarillo to the Oklahoma state line Monday.

Amarillo, Texas, saw about 20 inches of snow Monday. Along with the snow, a weather station in Pantex, Texas, reported a wind gust Monday morning of 77 mph. A wind gust of 84 mph was reported near El Paso, well south of the snowstorm.

A pedestrian walks past snow-covered cars and trees on Feb. 26 in Kansas City, Mo. A second major snowstorm in a week battered the Midwest, dropping more snow across Missouri and Kansas and cutting power to thousands.
Keith Myers, The Kansas City Star, via AP

A vehicle stops on the I-40 service road on Feb. 25 in Amarillo, Texas. A blizzard packing 50 mph wind gusts and more than 11 inches of snow blasted Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle, making travel nearly impossible
Michael Schumacher, The Amarillo Globe News, via AP

Alan Daniels loads salt trucks at the Overland Park Public Works Department as a second snowstorm bears down on the Midwest in Overland Park, Kan. Daniels said he has loaded more than 210 tons of salt to prepare for the snow.
Julie Denesha, Getty Images

Codi Lynn takes Mallorie Allen, 3, and Kagen Allen, 4, sledding down a hill in Hutchinson. Parts of Kansas are bracing for anywhere from 8 to 24 inches of snow as the system moves through the state overnight.
Lindsey Bauman, The Hutchinson (Kan.) News, via AP

In the drought-stricken Plains, thirsting for moisture, the storm could help replenish the groundwater. Climatologists say 12 inches of snow is equivalent to about 1 inch of rain, depending on the density of the snow.